They had a year of successes in a region where the entrepreneur is king.
That's what the Prairie Innovation Enterprise Region (PIER) reported at their annual meeting held September 14 in LeRoy.
A small crowd of people, representing local businesses, municipalities and government agencies, attended the annual meeting, held at the LeRoy Wildlife Hall.
It was their strategic business plan, developed last fall, that led them through their successful year, reported PIER board chair Joanne Forer.
"Our mission focuses on realizing the economic potential of the region, increasing competitiveness, and breaking down barriers to growth," Forer wrote in her report.
PIER conducted community meetings three years ago when it was forming, asking communities what they needed an economic development group to do. Last October, their strategic planning sessions "verified what your communities told us to do," she said, which was focus on housing and labour shortages, and expand regional economies through procurement opportunities.
Her report states that the translation of PIER's mission into goals and strategies can be summarized as this:
1. Access a strong labour pool through our Regional Newcomer Centre;
2. Address expansion of the regional economy through projects including our Business Capacity Listing, our Business Retention and Expansion work, and our Industry Housing Tool kit.
3. Communicate with key targets through our website and membership, and
4. Ensure effective operations through the building of capacity with our partners.
Something Forer is especially proud of is that PIER has leveraged their core funding from Enterprise Saskatchewan in order to build capacity. For every dollar PIER received from Enterprise Saskatchewan they have raised an additional $3.20 from funding partners, including municipalities, industries in the private sector, educational institutions, provincial and federal governments and other non-government organizations.
This allowed them to keep all seven of their staff, despite a 25 per cent reduction in core funding from Enterprise Saskatchewan.
"It's far exceeded the expectations of Enterprise Saskatchewan," Forer said of their funding. "And like Telemiracle, I'm sure we can go higher."
Two years ago, PIER "was just a baby in terms of organizations. What we've done in two years, I think you can be well proud of," she told the members present.
The success PIER has experienced has partially been a result of membership involvement, she continued.
"A lot of Enterprise Regions struggled.... (because) they didn't have a vision, a clear purpose and direction," Forer said. "You as members gave us clear purpose and direction - labour and housing."
A shortage of both have been burning issues in this region since at least 2007.
At the end of their year, they want to be able to say that PIER has made a difference in every part of the region, Forer said, and she believes they have attained that goal.
"Not every region can say that," she said. "It's difficult to set direction if you don't have a burning issue."
PIER has a lot of work ahead of them, she said, but "we have a good organization to provide us with the tools and what's needed to make this region the best in Saskatchewan."
CEO Sylvia Waterer echoed Forer's statements about the difference between PIER and other Enterprise Regions in the province.
"Saskatchewan has a lot going for it, but... not all regions are created equal," she said, in giving her year-end report. "What's very, very different in this region is a collective entrepreneurial attitude."
That attitude, she said, permeates the collective business community.
"Realizing economic potential and global competition are very achievable goals for the Prairie Innovation Enterprise Region," she stated in her report.
Waterer listed some of the completed projects and new initiatives begun by PIER in the last year in her report, including a Industry Housing Tool Kit model and related housing business plan for Schulte Industries in Englefeld, a Business Capacity Listing with BHP Billiton, and official community plans for Wynyard, St. Brieux, Englefeld and Quill Lake, in partnership with Enterprise Saskatchewan.
Financially, in operations, PIER ran into the red in 2011 by a total of $9,236. But thanks to a surplus of $24,247 in 2010, ended the year with a balance of over $15,000 in their account. Total revenue for the year totalled $635,767, while expenses totalled $645,003.
A new board was elected at the meeting as well. Nine nominees for eight vacancies (six two-year terms and two one-year terms) meant a vote took place, and a tied vote meant names were drawn out of a hat to determine the new board.
Elected to two-year terms were Rob Harasymchuk, Carol Weiman, Darren Frisko, Malcolm Eaton, Victor Haire and Serge Pelletier.
Elected to one-year terms were Denis McKnight and Islay Ehlert.
PIER staff presented updates on some of their ongoing projects at the close of the meeting.
Industry Housing
Tool kit
Designed to help businesses and communities who want to engage in housing projects to attract employees, the tool kit was created by Greg Argue and Keith Schneider.
By consulting a local industry - Schulte Industries in Englefeld - they came up with steps for companies to follow, from deciding to champion a housing project to development and property management, when housing for their employees becomes an issue.
There is a need in Saskatchewan now for workforce housing, Argue noted, as a three-bedroom bungalow costs $300,000 to build, which requires an annual income of $70,000, and the median income remains $56,000.
"Workforce housing is important because the economy tends to be lumpy," he said. "There are housing issues because a local economy is hot, and price are rising. Then it's difficult for people to move in, it's difficult for employers to hire people, because (the price of housing) is too high."
This can be addressed through a number of fronts.
"Communities have to decide how deeply they want to get involved in the housing side," he said.
Argue said he looks forward to getting this tool kit on the ground and working, and engaging communities.
PIER plans to implement the tool kit in the region, but have not yet heard about funding for that part of the project.
Business retention
and expansion
This project began by looking at businesses in the region, trying to identify barriers to growth, explained Wes Volk of PIER.
They have already interviewed 90 per cent of the primary industries in the area - there were about 60 in total - and developed reports and statistics from the information gathered.
Some examples of the analyzed data included that of the manufacturing businesses in the area, 57 per cent expected an increase in sales, and keys to success were identified as product innovation, developing niche markets and diversifying product lines. Also, 55 per cent were considered low tech, yet were very successful, and 92 per cent indicated a stable job vacancy rate, showing there are labour issues.
An identified barrier to growth on the manufacturing side was poor cell coverage.
The overall outlook for manufacturing in the PIER region is a growth potential of medium to very high. Fifty-three per cent of businesses plan to expand in the next two years, Volk reported.
The next phase of this project is interviewing secondary businesses in the region, of which there are about 2,000.
Business Capacity
Listing
Started by PIER and BHP Billiton, the Business Capacity Listing involves listing every business in the PIER area and what they do.
They plan to post the data collected on the PIER website, and it will be searchable by a number criteria.
"It will have a lot more information than a phone book," Volk said.
This project will not only help entrepreneurs see where service gaps are in the region, it will help businesses like BHP Billiton find local businesses capable of meeting their needs.
Started in 2010, the list is slated to be posted next month.
"I am constantly surprised when I see what certain businesses can do," Volk said. "In these tiny little towns, where you don't expect them. They are very skilled at what they do."
Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre
Opened to help immigrants to this region settle in, the Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre, a PIER project, opened its doors last year. One of 11 newcomer gateway centres in the province, the Humboldt office has worked with a diverse group of newcomers from around the world, helping them access all kinds of services, and building bridges between them and the community.
They work, said Janine Hart, manager of the centre, on the ground level with people who have come to fill the labour gaps in the region.
They organize information sessions, hold informal Conversation Cafes, and help immigrants overcome hurdles and get through red tape.
In the past year, they have had 966 total service interactions, including helping 105 temporary foreign workers and 351 permanent residents.
They have served people moving to this region from 17 countries, including Germany, France, India, China, Mexico, Brazil and Israel, as well as Canadians from other provinces.
